What happened? The gloomy atmosphere that surged the residence was now replaced with what? Normalcy?

One act of kindness which was so much for Angela that she forgot everything...literally everything and was now back in her normal state. Whats more is that she found herself thinking alot about Ryan. Alot.

Does that mean that she likes remembering the way Ryan approached her? No...she hasn't lost it, right? If she has then it definitely means that she is in...

Angela stepped out of her room to enter the kitchen where she met her French best friend, Jéan.

"Good morning, Jéan." Angela said in enthusiasm and almost twirled like a ballerina, feeling too exicted.

"Oh, madamossele. Good morning, indeed." Jèan said oddly as he found her tone to be...oddly enthusiastic.

Jèan turned around to see Angela searching for some ingredients with a firm smile across her pretty face. Seemed she was going to make breakfast...again.

'What happened to her? She's brimming with joy, i can feel it way over here! Seems she has gotten over it. But how?'

"So...are you going to make breakfast again, mon chere?" Jèan asked slowly.

"Oh...Yes. Sorry...I just...I dont know, can I? I mean, we? Can we make it together?" Angela replied politely.

Jèan gestured with a sincere smirk, happy with her politeness. The preparation was going well, Jéan kept on instructing Angela on how to elevate the flavours of her picked dishes. And Angela listened carefully and responded admirably. Jéan noticed that she was seriously okay now, but was a bit confused of what had caused it. But he didnt pay attention, he just cared about Angela's happiness. He considered her to be his own daughter because she was, sweet, funny, cooperative and never rude. Not even in her bad days. Also, she had a way with elder people.

Angela assembled the grub at the table, where Brenda had arrived momentarily.

"Good morning, Mistress Brenda." Angela smiled.

"Oh..Good morning, yourself, Angela." Brenda was held back by her tone. "Angela, again. Im so sorry for that day. "

"Oh, Mistress, please. Don't. You have apologised enough." Brenda started to look up " Its alright. I mean it. Why are you apologising, its not fair. I mean, what has happened has happened, let bygones be bygones right? It doesn't bother me anymore."

"Well, it does to me. Its...so shocking to realise that that happened. Its--"

"Brenda...im serious. Its alright." Angela stepped forward placing her hand on her shoulders.

Brenda looked into her eyes. They were filled with sincerity. And there was a small substrate of happiness visible too. Taking her word for it, Brenda smiled.

"Im sorry, we didnt tell you about mine and Charles's departure. We went to the Deluxe hotel for some bussiness arrangement and returned past midnight. Didnt have a chance to check on you or Ryan."

'Oh, right. They werent home last night. Last night...'

Angela remembered last night, the incident but it was gone in a flash.

"Oh, right. I came back around 11, time flied as I explored the city. I didnt see you or Master Charles either, I went to bed early, I guess."

"Well, nothing else to say, I guess. But, if you dont mind my asking." Brenda looked up again in Curiosity. "You seem, pretty...gloomy yesterday. Now, you're the old Angela. What happened? Met some cutie yesterday?" Brenda raised a brow.

Angela's heart skipped a beat upon hearing that question. Her head jerked backward instantly, like she heard a somber news.

'Cutie? Oh, shit! Does she know about last night? Ryan and me... No No'

"No, no, I-i didnt. W-w-why would you think that?" Angela sounded nervous. Apparently, she was afraid of Brenda finding that Angela is having softer feelings for her son. It sounded like an interrogation.

Brenda smiled.

'Gotcha!'

"Well, then I guess I will force it out of you." Brenda sounded serious.

Angela stepped back in shock.

"Hahahhaha. Just kidding. Hahahahah"

Angela looked confused. What was she saying? Acting so tough and interrogative, suddenly. Angela let out a laughter.

"Sorry, just felt like it. So who is it? One of the caterers? Guests? You gotta tell me something."

Angela looked at Brenda and thought of her question. She smiled as she thought of Ryan again. Who seemed to pop infront of her eyes almost all the time. But whenever he did, she looked elsewhere in shyness.

Angela hessitated and shook her head nervously.

"Good morning, Mother dear." Entered Ryan.

Angela didn't move her head to notice Ryan because she knew Brenda would suspect something. Ryan was like a messiah to her as his entrance allowed her to escape this predicament.

Brenda's mind shifted to her son which somehow Angela noticed and let out a slow sigh of relief.

"Good morning, son. That'll be all, Angela." Brenda smiled and kept on staring secretly at the maid who walked out of the room to the kitchen.

As Angela walked out, she passed Ryan who stepped to the side so that Angela could step out. As Ryan did, Brenda caught them. She saw Angela's shy smile embedded on her face, as well as, the smirk on Ryans face.

It wasnt all a coincidence. Lets do the math. Angela went out yesterday, so had Ryan. Ryan didnt know about his parents going out for the night and neither did Angela. They were both alone. Alone. In the residence. Now, in the morning, Angela's mood had changed...fully. She didn't mope nor had the sad expression. She was...smiling after such a while. Now, she was feeling shy when Brenda mentioned her meeting someone. And that shy smile near Ryan.

'Gotcha, Angela! So it's Ryan, huh? You finally fell for his charms. Ryan, Oh, you sneaky devil.'

Ryan, of course, went to his office but he was more excited than usual. Like, he was feeling, joy going to work.

While Angela completed her chores. The usual, cleaning, dusting, gathering, etcetera, etcetera. Her work was finished and she spent her free time standing on the terrace, just staring at the abyss. Of course, her mind was filled with images of Ryan and the thought of how sweet Ryan was to her made her wanna squirm. But controlled it, so not to give her away.

Her thoughts then diverted back to that day when Ryan touched and kissed her forcefully. Her mood had changed, the smile vanished and the happy expression was replaced with a sad one.

"How could I?" Angela whispered.

What? What is she talking about.

"Damn it! How could I act like that?!"

It seemed Angela wasnt angry about Ryan's smooches but was rather offended by her own actions. Her words, her yells and that slap! Her eyes widened as she was overwhelmed by her own memory. Closing her eyes in shame she said

"I promise to make it up to you. I will."

"To whom, is the question."

A voice rang through her ears.

Instantly, turning around. It was her Mistress.

'Fuck!'

Brenda folded her arms and was giving a smart grin to Angela.

"Uhh..n-n-noone..." Angela forced a laughter.

"Heheh, relax, kiddo. I aint gonna hurt you." Brenda stepped forward and took a seat under the shade.

Angela felt nervousness and wore a fake smile to hide it. That didnt help at all!

Brenda gestured her to sit near her.

Brenda could see the sweat dropping from her head and she enjoyed every bit of it. As evil as that sounded, Brenda couldn't care less.

The silence was unnerving and for a fact, Angela didnt know what to talk about.

Brenda broke the silence.

"Angela?"

"Hmm"

"I heard, Bernard called?"

'Ohh. Thats a relief, I thought she was suspecting something.'

"Uh, No. But I guess, soon." Angela replied calmly.

"Miss him?"

Angela looked down and nodded.

'Poor girl. Hasnt seen her only family for so long.'

"Its alright, beautiful. He will come one day. Not next year or month. But sometime this or next week, im sure."

Angela heard but it wasnt promising. She didnt want to mope around all day and waste Brenda's time.

"So, how was yesterday? I havent seen Sir Charles."

"Oh, it was great. The meeting was fascinating. Better than I expected. As for Charles, he directly went to his office and I came alone."

Angela nodded hearing Brenda's talk.

"What'd you do last night?" Brenda bit her cheek to hide her laughter.

'WHAT?! Why is she asking this? Does she know?'

"Uhh.. nothing, nothing. I-i went to bed early." Angela gulped.

"I wonder about that. You're brimming as ever, Hmmmm." Brenda squint her eyes and looked deeply at Angela.

Angela fidgeted her fingers and felt her heart throb. Her body was shaking slightly and her breathing got more vigorous.

"Hahahah, just messing with ya." Brenda laughed making Angela feel completly left out.

'Huh?'

"Sorry. Just thought, I'd joke a bit." Brenda smiled.

"I better get used to it, huh?" Angela forced a laugh.

Brenda scoffed and nodded in acknowledgement.

"Me and Charles...we..we didnt meet exactly how we were supposed to." Brenda looked at her drink as she initiated her tale.

"We were class fellows, following the same profession. We were barely friends. Who knew, that quite guy at the bar will become my future husband." Brenda chuckled making Angela chuckle too.

It was interesting to Angela, actually. She found herself deeply concentrated at her story. A story that came out of the blue but caught her attention, successfully.

"Really? what, then? Did you prefer someone else?"

"It was something like that. Him and I had different friend spheres. Although, Charles was a rich brat, he was relatively well respected and friended among his pupils. As you may have seen in movies where the rich kid is always bullied and friendless and miserable."

She was right.

Brenda continued "I saw him multiple times, like the annual ceremonies and projects. We only spoke when there was something important to talk about. Then, I had a boyfriend, Miles Ross. I was deeply in love with him. I thought of him as charismatic, funny, loyal person. I had fallen for him in high school and till my college we were together."

'Miles? Mistress Brenda had someone before Charles?'

"I was in that sphere because of him. My life was going good, academics were going pretty good and I thought when college ends, I'll marry my beloved Miles...until he showed me his true face."

Brenda's mood became less friendly.

"For many days, I saw him chatting with someone for hours. Of course, it couldn't be any of his friends, right. For a week, he came late and said he was at his friend's. It was fishy, alright. Didnt he get bored with them? Doing the same lame things all day? I Wanted to get to the bottom of this, But fate was by my side. I was at this bar, I dont know its name, maybe it was 69 something."

Angela remembered it.

''69 bar! Thats where Ryan was.'

"Drinking with my friend and just telling her how Miles had been for the past whole month and then suddenly the bells rang. Someone entered. I didnt pay much attention but my friend made me wanna turn around. It was him. Miles. With, Jessie. The same girl, from our sphere. He was holding hands with her hand and looked hell'a happy. "

Angela stopped her movements as she thought of what she heard. Brenda. Telling her about her boyfriend who was with someone else.

"I didnt stop. I went to 'Peek-a-boo' him. As he turned around, I used all the energy on the slap I gave him across his thick face. The music was loud so noone heard the yells of mine and his. He was cheating on me, I was hurt but what hurt me most was him pushing me so hard, that I fell on the floor. The music stopped. All eyes on us. The hateful face and my sobbing eyes just kept on glancing at each other. My heart had broken upon seeing him with another girl but now it was shattered. But then I saw someone pushing Miles away. Miles tried to hit but that dude dodged and gave him so many punches that the big guy fell. And I heard in an angry tone 'Dont touch her. Stay away from her.' The 6'5 tall guy fell like humpty dumpty and took his Girlfriend and fled away like a bitch!"

Brenda glanced at Angela who was looking extremely intrigued and focused.

"The bar was filled with chants and claps as they praised my savior. My eyes were stilll a bit blurry but my vision normalised as the hero closed in to pick me up. His face, came closer and closer and...it was Charles Reeves. Charles! The random colleague whom I barely spoke too. He beat Miles's ass and saved me cuz I knew Miles was gonna continue to assault me if Charles wasnt there. My eyes were sparkling and his face glistening. He came forward and picked me up saying 'You okay, beautiful?' That made my heart burst into flames. I kept on staring in awe as I couldnt believe what was happening. He dropped me and my friend to our rooms in his own car. Before leaving he looked into my eyes and said 'Dont worry, about Miles. He was an asshole from the beginning, he dont deserve you. If he messes with you, just tell me, alright?'. Those words, they kept on lingering into my mind. Every time I remembered, the better it sounded."

Angela's eyes widened for a second. It gets weird when you're admiting that you found the perfect guy right after breaking up with your supposed perfect person.

"The whole night I spent in recalling the recent events. Miles, really disappointed me but it was expected from him as I heard rumours about him hooking up with anyone he sees but It was just me, not wanting to accept the reality." Brenda looked down slowly, staring at the floor. As if she was ashamed of speaking the truth.

"The next day, I completely forgot about Miles. Entering the class me and my friend were called and accepted with open arms by Charles. He introduced us to his groupies and made sure I was never alone. Charles, he just made me fly, made me feel accepted. Dont get me wrong, back with Miles, I did feel accepted but with Charles it was very different. We'd go to cafe's, movies, fund raisers and countless other places together, as a united group. And I never felt so alive. Charles and I started to meet and hang out quite often. We got to know each other a bit, sharing our goals and future predictions on where we see ourselves. Miles saw us countless times but diverted his face, like, he saw nothing. To be honest, he was jealous to see me with the boxer who kicked his ass into oblivion." Brenda started to smile. "Charles was so interesting, so serious, so skilled and admirably understanding. I told him so much about myself and how I had suffered and Charles, he would listen to me for hours and hours and console me so much, he never got tired. In return, I would listen to him and my God...I just didnt want him to stop. My heart fluttered by his mere words, I just loved to be with him. That was it. I fell in love with him. "

Angela upon hearing that last part smiled and giggles noticing the squirming of her Mistress.

'Wow! Brenda is seriously in LOVE! Never knew her story would be this exciting!'

"But, I felt shy but not afraid because I knew Charles and I knew he would get me. Lucky for me, Charles confessed to me first." Brenda threw her hair back, showing off.

"It was so magical, I couldn't believe it. Life was going so well. After our graduation, Charles and I received internship offers from London but Charles didnt wanna go. He wanted to inherit his fathers business. I agreed, not because it was the right move but because I love him and I had faith in him. And it paid off. Charles elevated his father's bussiness to a whole new level, after he, tragically, passed away. I handled meetings until Ryan took over my position."

Brenda instantly looked at Angela right after she mentioned Ryan. She noticed it. Angela smiled by the mere mentioning of his name. She smirked as her suspicions were confirmed.

"Bet you dont know that, Ryan and Katherine, were the name of children I decided before I even met Charles."

Angela looked shocked. Her expression rreplaced with sadness. How could someone cheat on the person they thought would be their future spouse?

"But, Charles loved the names and decided to make my dream come true : Of having two children. But its not that, im sad that I didnt got to have children with Miles. I am glad I didnt. I didnt care about him, I am so frickin happy that I have Charles as my husband. And, I became pregnant with Katherine before I even married Charles." Brenda controlled her laughter as she saw the awe expression on Angela's face.

They both laughed for moments until it died down.

Brenda looked at Angela with a questionable look and Angela could only stare back and process her look.

"Umm, thank you, Mistress Brenda for sharing your story with me. Umm I loved it."

At this moment Angela wondered, why she suddenly told her tale.

Brenda replied smiling "You see, in love, people have understanding of one another which is the most essential part of being in love. Problems arrise, disputes amongst selves occur and it can only be solved by mutual respect and understanding. Mistakes happen but one needs to forget them, and move on with their beloved. And most important part is loyalty and trust. They need to be present or else all is in vain. I thought Miles was my everything but who knewhe would turn out this way. It took time but got over him and scored the perfect guy."

'Love? What is she talking about? Wait, is she talking about me?'

"The guy you like, by chance, he is your first, right?" Brenda raised ber brows.

Angela hesitated. She didnt wanna answer, just wanted to skip the question but it seemed rude.

Angela nodded head shyly.

"Does he have a devilish smile that first made him look like a total creep but now its all you wanna see?"

Angela paused. She remembered the smile and how it made him look cute. Shyness took over as, Angela smirked slowly and nodded.

"Handsome and muscular?"

Angela thought of the day when Ryan stripped his shirt and stood near Angela. She started to blush and felt her heart beat getting faster and faster.

Angela nodded, again. She had absolutely no idea that Brenda knew whom she liked. She gave herself away so many times now but wasnt aware.

Brenda stood up and gestured her to follow her.

"He's a lucky guy isnt he, Angela Reeves?"

"Oh, yes he is. Wait, my last name is Doss not--" Angela stood in her position. The words, Reeves, surrounded her brain. Her mind kept on jumping from here and there.

'WHAT??!! SHE KNOWS?! Oh, fuck!'

Brenda could only smile satisfyingly.